Our New Home

So excited to be able to move into this home. It is much larger and suits our family's needs more. It is going to be cleaned (windows washed, carpets shampooed, etc) on Monday, and then we will start moving all our stuff. I wanted to take some pictures of it empty...

The front of the house.....

living Room and front door...
more living room....

and even more pictures of the living room....can you tell how much I love it. It is so bright and I love the high ceilings and plant shelves! Can't wait to decorate them.....

The master bathroom. It has carpet in it, and Steve is going to tile the floor.....

This will be Ethan's room. He is so excited to have his own bedroom.....

This is the den that is connected to the kitchen.....and the slider to the backyard...

This is where I found Wyatt....surprise!....

This is the kitchen looking in from the den....

The second bathroom. We eventually want to tile this floor too....

This is Averi's room. We are going to stick Wy in there with her for awhile, so the boys can have their own bedrooms right now......I loved the mirrored closet doors. Perfect for a girl.

This will be Gavin's room. Of course we are going to paint the walls so they aren't pink! Gavin's window faces the fence, and he wants me to plant something colorful and beautiful outside his window. I am thinking bougenvilla!

The backyard.....

The side yard. I am going to grow a garden over in the dirt area by the fence....

The previous owners left this swing set, which is fun for the kids.....

There is also a built-in BBQ in the backyard, so we are looking forward to lots of yummy food this summer. Sooooo excited to move!

Ethan's Basketball Season

Ethan played basketball for the YMCA this year. He had an amazing coach and it really made a huge difference. Practices were fun and the games were always successful. The coach taught the kids a lot about the sport, and he was so positive. Ethan really listened to him and learned a great amount about zone defense and shooting this year.

Luckily Steve's schedule let him come to every game but one. He was always in control of Wild Guy, and the game that he wasn't there...well, this is how he acted!

Some pictures of Ethan in action....
He really improved on his ball handling and passing this year. He even scored three baskets. That was a very exciting time for the family. I love watching him succeed and the smile on his face....

After the season, the team had a party at Rusty's Pizza. Our whole family went and got to play video games and see Ethan get his award.

The whole team praying together for the last time. I always appreciated how the coach started and ended the games and practices with a prayer. It made for great morale among the tam members.

Ethan's coach had really good things to say about him. After Ethan scored a point, he ran down the court and told his coach how much fun basketball was. He coach replied to him that that is what it is all about!

Ethan with the other team members.

Happy about his medal.

Gavin just wanted to play games the whole time.

Cutest baby in the world.

And Daddy's Little Girl.....(imagine that!)

Looking forward to next year. I want to request the same coach for Ethan.

Vietnam Memorial

At Stramler Park, there was a replica of the Vietnam Memorial. It wasn't full size, but it was such a nice tribute. Since I have seen the actual wall in Washington, and Ethan is obsessed with war and history, we took the opportunity to take the kids to see it Wy didn't quite understand the whole thing and had more fun just running around.

One of the displays there to view

They had over two hundred flag all around. The kids enjoyed counting them.

Love this picture!

And this one too. (it is fun plying with my camera)

Kids enjoying the scenery.....not sure they totally understood the significance of the wall, but it was a great experience for them.

The Wall.

Now Ethan wants to take a trip to Washington D.C. to see the real thing. I told him to petition Pappa and Grandma with that one!

St. Patricks Day 2010

The kids love any holiday, so I did my best to make St. Patricks day fun for the family. Of course everyone was dressed in green. Wouldn't dare send the boys to school without it on. I made a special dinner. Baked all day long, and came up with corned beef, potatoes and gravy, peas, green jello, and special green punch with green ice cubes. For dessert we had chocolate chip brownies with green frosting on top. The family loved it all. So nice to have dinner without anyone complaining.

Some photos of our evening!

Wyatt sharing his special green juice with Steve.

I can't even come up with a response for this picture!


Wyatt...wearing his green!

Cutest and happiest girl in the world!

The boys keep asking me to make the same dinner again. But, they will have to wait til next year. I think it will become a new tradition!

Steve and My Anniversary Getaway to Kernville!

Pappa and Grandma were brave enough to take on four of their grand kids so that Steve and I could go away for the night up to Kernville and celebrate our anniversary. It has been three years since we have gone away together and we were really looking forward to it!

I booked a room at a bed-and-breakfast, and I was a bit nervous because I hadn't seen any pictures of the room and I really wanted it to be nice and romantic. I was so happy when we got there. The room was wonderful and had a fireplace and really comfortable bed. It was so relaxing, that after we went and toured the small downtown, I layed down and took a nap...something that hasn't happened for along time!

The bed-and-breakfast was right on the Kern River, so went hiked down to take some pictures. With all of the rain we have been getting lately, the river was flowing pretty good.

Of course, I had to take the chance to get a photo opportunity of Reagen!

She was a perfect angel the whole time and melted hearts wherever we took her.

She sure loves her Daddy!

Our room was really cute, and I have to admit it was nice to have a television and catch up on some Datelines that I haven't seen in over two years!

This was the view from the deck off of our room. It was so peaceful just to sit outside and listen to the river and smell the trees!

More photos of the river.....

It was a bit chilly, but I love cold weather!

Steve and I headed out to a B-B-Q joint for dinner. We weren't disappointed, and had the best tri-tip I have ever tasted. Of course there was also peanut butter pie for dessert. I had to take one back to the hotel for my midnight snack!

Such a fun and relaxing day. Looking forward to going back up there again!

Blue and Gold Dinner

With the help of my new assistant, Marlo, we had our Blue and Gold dinner on February 24th. It was small, since we only have four cub scouts, but successful. Since it was the 100th anniversary of scouting, we threw a birthday party. I let the kids pick the menu, so of course we had pizza! All of the parents chipped in to bring different salads and desserts, and Marlo did a wonderful job with the decorations!

Since Steve is our Cub Master, he handed out the various awards to the boys.

Ethan was very excited to finish his Wolf, and I always love when he gets to pin me.
He also received two beads toward his advancement rank, along with his basketball, physical fitness, gaming, and photography belt loops.

Marlo's wonderful decorations!

Melissa made the cupcakes! Not only were they good, but she came up with this great surprise for the boys when she decorated them. There was one cupcake with each of their names on it.

Now, we are looking forward to the boys favorite part of the year...the PineWood Derby!